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A tornado that struck Palm Beach Gardens in the early morning hours of Jan. 23 devastated parts of the Benjamin School campus. Nearly seven months later, the school continues to repair the damage. At the football stadium, where winds of up to 90 mph ripped up bleachers, toppled a light pole, crumpled the press box and tore chunks out of the track, work is underway to put the structure back together...

Beginning this season, The Post will require coaches to report their game results via email to our new high school sports email address: pbphssports@pbpost.com. Please report results by 11 p.m. To reach the high school sports desk for other matters, call our new high school sports phone number: 561-820-4411

The findings were sobering, but not surprising to Lili Lopez Smith. Research on 202 former football players — including those in high school — conducted by neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee and published in The Journal of the American Medical Association last month found evidence of a debilitating brain disease consistent with repeated blows to the head. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)...

There wasn’t a pop. There wasn’t a rip. There wasn’t any pain. Corey Cola just felt a strange sensation in his knee — “like bones shifting between rubber” — and dropped to the ground. Cola was playing in a scrimmage with the Park Vista Cobras on May 11, and he knew he was hurt. Probably a hyperextension, which was disappointing because Park Vista’s spring...

Football season is underway in Palm Beach County — not even Mother Nature could stop it. Most of the area’s 36 teams opened fall practice Monday, running drills through a steady rain that turned fields slick and muddy. Teams will have three weeks of practice before playing preseason games, which are scheduled for Aug. 18. The regular season opens Aug. 25. At Wellington, 70 players...

High school football’s offseason has come to an end in Palm Beach County. Fall practice begins Monday for 36 area schools. Teams will have three weeks to prepare for preseason games, which will be played Aug. 18. The regular season kicks off the following week. Here are seven things to look for: 1. Change of scenery for some area standouts: Numerous players switched teams during the offseason...

A Boca Raton standout football player has been placed on probation for three years and ordered to write a 500-word essay after he plead guilty to forcibly removing Air Jordan sneakers from an 11-year-old boy and stealing his bike, according to court records. Shelley Singletary, an 18-year-old running back and defensive back who considered a major college prospect, was directed by Judge Samantha Schosberg...

First there were nerves. Lots of them. And then relief, followed by elation. Sixteen of the nation’s top 16-year-old boys basketball players, among them Cardinal Newman sophomore Scottie Barnes, were sitting in a room in Colorado Springs, Colo., earlier this month, waiting to hear their names called as members of USA Basketball’s U16 men’s national team. Twelve would make the cut...

West Boca Raton boys basketball coach Nate Vera is spending his summer coaching. That’s no surprise. But his focus extends beyond grade-school summer campers and high school players looking to sharpen their skills in the offseason. Vera, who spent three seasons at Forest Hill and one as an assistant coach at Cardinal Newman before taking over at West Boca Raton in April, also works with coaches...

Once more, shirts with the No. 4 and the name “Bryant” across the top graced the field at American Heritage. More than a year after the — emphasis on “the” — No. 4, Greg Bryant Jr., was slain in a shooting on Interstate 95, there was not just one No. 4 juking defenders, turning upfield and sprinting to the end zone. There were dozens of kids, ranging from elementary...

Filmmaker Patrick Bresnan’s inside look at Pahokee High School’s prom got him his first invitation to the Sundance Film Festival in 2016. But it is his follow up, documenting a Pahokee family hunting rabbits as the critters flee burning cane fields, that has opened the door to competing for an Academy Award. “The Rabbit Hunt,” which runs just over 11 minutes with no narration...

James Marinan’s presence loomed large over the fields at West Boynton Park, just a couple minutes’ walk away from Park Vista, this spring. At 6-foot-4 with a frame that looks likely to add more muscle in the next few years, he could be an intimidating sight to pitchers looking to sneak a pitch past him and to hitters hoping to catch up with his mid-90s fastball. The Park Vista right-hander...

Angel Tiburcio and Trinity Christian’s return to Fort Myers for the state Final Four started bizzarely. First, the 6-foot-3 pitcher/infielder popped a fly ball to right field that the opposing outfielder couldn’t hang on to. The first-base umpire ruled that the outfielder dropped the ball while transferring it to his throwing hand — meaning Tiburcio was out — but another umpire...

Ally Costa saved her best for last at last month’s Class 9A state softball championships. In the final performance of her standout high school career, the senior right-hander gave up one run on seven hits, struck out 10 and didn’t walk a batter in a 1-0 loss to 30-win Palm Harbor University in a semifinal contest. She also had one of the Warriors’ four hits in the game, which showcased...

With pitcher Lianna Mullins playing a leading role, the Oxbridge Academy softball team set record after record this season. The ThunderWolves won 27 games, claimed their first district and regional championships, and played for a state title. “Everyone did so much work to get to where we were,” Mullins said. Her included. The senior right-hander was a force at the plate and on the mound...

William Howells made the Olympic Heights boys tennis team for the first time before his senior season. An online-school student, he had never played for the Lions before. “I didn’t know anyone on the team when I first went to practice,” he said. “I went there and I was an outsider. But that changed quickly, and then it was a good time. Everyone is good people.” He adjusted...

Anna Bright’s star continues to shine. For the third straight year, the multi-talented honor student has been selected as The Palm Beach Post’s Girls Tennis Player of The Year. Bright has chosen to skip her senior year and enroll at the University of California-Berkeley after an illustrious academic and athletic career at West Boca High. Bright was undefeated in singles competition this...

Successfully transitioning from one sport to another can be a huge challenge for athletes at any level. King’s Academy’s Justin Bridgewater, The Palm Beach Post’s 2017 Boys Track Athlete of The Year, skillfully moved from being proficient on the basketball court to posting winning times on the oval. “The two sports don’t overlap each so there’s time for both...

Karimah Davis reached the heights of the state’s high school track scene, and a big reason why is because of her height. At 5-foot-10, Davis has a built-in advantage, according to Palm Beach Central sprint coach Derek Walker, whose star earned Palm Beach Post All-Area Girls Track Athlete of The Year honors for the second time. “Her stride pattern, because of her height, is really a huge...

When Kristian Gonzalez won a gold medal at the boys weightlifting state championships in April, he had an oversized group of supporters cheering him on. The Hawks’ senior, who was making his fourth trip to the state meet — his best finish was fifth last year — brought every one of his high school coaches with him to DeLand High School. “They were all there coaching me up for...

Kristi Kemper spent the past four seasons running across the football field for Seminole Ridge, but standing on the sideline with a headset could be in her future. “Me and coach (Scott O’Hara) used to have an inside joke about me being the first female offensive coordinator in the NFL because I called a lot of our plays in the huddle,” Kemper said. Kemper’s play calls helped...

The numbers say it all: 297 Kills, 81 blocks, 302 assists, 195 service points and 137 digs. Tervinson Lubin is the 2017 Boys Volleyball Player of the Year for good reason. A 6-foot-2 senior setter and middle hitter for Palm Beach Gardens, Lubin has excelled as a dominant offensive player — including a powerful jump serve — while also displaying exceptional defensive skills. kill shot threat...

Griffin Bowie worked for his father at an Engel Coolers warehouse in Jupiter before his junior year at Benjamin, and it actually may have helped him on the lacrosse field. “I did a lot of manual labor, lifting heavy boxes around all day,” Bowie said. “I definitely got a lot stronger doing that. I was in shape from working in the warehouse over the summer, going into my junior summer...

As a seventh-grader, Caitlyn Wurzburger started for the American Heritage girls varsity lacrosse team. In eighth grade, she scored over 100 goals, added 103 assists and was named the Post’s 2016 Player of the Year. As a high school freshman, she proved those first two seasons were no fluke. Wurzburger, who committed to Syracuse University more than a year ago, scored 101 goals and doled...

Pavin Smith is headed to the desert. The former Palm Beach Gardens star, who spent the last three years of his career playing college baseball for the Virginia Cavaliers, was selected seventh overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks on the first night of the MLB Draft on Monday. “It feels amazing,” Smith said. “I’ve worked my whole life for this, and it’s just a dream come...

Some local baseball players’ dream careers could begin this week. Several of the top high school players in Palm Beach County, and former local high school players who went on to play college baseball, likely will be selected in this week’s MLB Draft, which begins Monday night and runs through Wednesday. The first round and Competitive Balance Round A will air on MLB Network, starting...

American Heritage — Jonathan Resnick. A standout lineman for the Stallions’ football team, he also carried a 5.63 honors-point average. He will attend Johns Hopkins University. Atlantic — Dayna Goltz. She played No. 2 singles for the Eagles’ girls tennis team and also was the school’s salutatorian. She will attend Vanderbilt University. Benjamin — Christian Cropp...

Jupiter struggled to find a rhythm against Orlando Timber Creek junior ace Bret Neilan in a Class 9A baseball state semifinal game and fell 4-2 at Hammond Stadium on Friday night. Neilan retired 18 of the final 21 batters he faced and Timber Creek scored four runs in the final four innings to top the Warriors at the spring training home of the Minnesota Twins. Jupiter (22-7-2) managed just two hits...

It took Jupiter two days to find out whether it would have to book a trip to Fort Myers. Dwyer needed three. Inclement weather forced the Warriors to stop their regional final against Parkland- Douglas in the ninth inning (high school games are seven innings, not nine.), while the Panthers’ game against Miami-Belen Jesuit didn’t start until Friday after being originally scheduled for Tuesday...

When he was young, Dylan Rosnick just wanted to play baseball, a simple enough request for a child growing up in the Loudoun County exurbs. He wanted to tie his shoes, too, and hold a pencil the right way, and button his shirt, and brush his teeth. There's not a lot of guidance, though, for a child with Proteus syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects fewer than one in 1 million births worldwide...

It was apropos that the Dwyer baseball team notched the program’s first trip to the state semifinals with a wild and unconventional victory on its home field Friday afternoon. Even if the Panthers’ 2-1 walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh inning against visiting Miami-Belen Jesuit came courtesy of a two-out throwing error, perhaps no team in the area is as much deserving of a bit...

American Heritage’s bid for a berth in the Class 4A state baseball championship game fell short when the Stallions fell to undefeated Clearwater-Calvary Christian 7-1 on Friday night in Fort Myers. Calvary Christian (29-0) scored two runs in the top of the first before American Heritage (23-9) scored its only run in the bottom of the third to halve Calvary Christian’s lead. Calvary, however...

Trinity Christian baseball coach Miguel Cuello had two options to choose from when deciding who to start in Thursday’s Class 2A state championship game. He could go with senior Peron Butler or eighth-grader Irv Carter. He chose Carter. The decision paid off, as Carter tossed five innings of two-run ball in an 8-3 win over Deltona-Trinity Christian, clinching the Warriors’ second consecutive...

A two-hour rain delay did nothing to dampen Trinity Christian’s offense. The Warriors routed Jacksonville-Christ’s Church Academy in the Class 2A semifinals with a run-rule 11-0 victory in five innings at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers on Wednesday night. “The rain threw us off a little bit,” Trinity Christian coach Miguel Cuello said. “But we were ready for it because...

Six Trinity Christian senior baseball players crossed the stage for graduation Tuesday night. They didn’t have any time to celebrate, though. After graduation, they and the rest of the reigning state champion Warriors baseball team traveled to Fort Myers to play in the Class 2A semifinals against Jacksonville-Christ’s Church Academy at 4 p.m. today. “We’re leaving tonight,...

9:45 a.m. UPDATE: Judge Dina Keever-Agrama on Tuesday morning set Matt Elam’s bail at a total of $4,000 on the two counts the NFL player is facing. Agrama also ruled at a first-appearance hearing at the Palm Beach County Jail that Elam have no contact with the girlfriend. Elam, who played five seasons for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens after standout careers at Dwyer High School in Palm Beach...

Wellington didn’t win the Class 8A state softball championship Saturday at Historic Dodgertown. That title went to nationally ranked Orange Park-Oakleaf. But the Wolverines, with just three seniors on their roster, surprised many by getting so close. Following the Knights’ 6-1 victory, Wellington coach Mark Boretti talked about how his team defied its youth. “Did anybody think that...

It was not the ending that Seminole Ridge was seeking, as its state record 52-game win streak was snapped by Tampa-Plant 19-6 in the Class 2A flag football state championship Saturday at Citizens Field. The defenses dominated early, with Plant (16-2) getting the first break when Sydney Johnson intercepted a pass by Seminole Ridge quarterback Emily Higgins, giving the Panthers great field position...

A new era at Palm Beach Gardens kicked off Friday night with a positive outcome as the Gators defeated visiting Glades Central 35-21 to close out spring drills for both programs. It was the first game for Billy Clark as head coach at Gardens. “Any team is a work in progress, especially in spring, but we’re excited with how many talented young kids we have,” said Clark, who takes...

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties are famous for their high school football talent. All three counties had representatives on the field at Palm Beach Lakes on Friday night. The Rams hosted a spring-game jamboree, bringing in visiting Boynton Beach, Deerfield Beach and Miami Central in a clash of the three South Florida counties. “(This lets) us know where we are, where we stand vs...

Runs were hard to come by Friday in a Class 9A state softball semifinal between Jupiter and Palm Harbor University, but the Hurricanes needed just one. Bailey Wilson’s RBI single in the top of the sixth brought home Jada Radecki with the winning run, lifting Palm Harbor University to a 1-0 victory over the Warriors at Historic Dodgertown. The Hurricanes (30-2) advance to play Winter Garden-West...

In a spring game that saw both first teams struggle, quarterback Austin Wallace and Wellington’s second team helped the Wolverines rally to a 16-14 victory over Weston-Cypress Bay on Friday night. Taking the reins to start the fourth quarter, Wallace engineered the comeback drive, hitting Adrian Hector for a 14-yard touchdown with less than three minutes left. “We played three hard quarters...

The Seminole Ridge flag football team overcame the threat of thunderstorms and a slow start to run its winning streak to 52 games with a 25-12 victory over Cooper City in the Class 2A state semifinals Friday at Citizens Field. On the second possession of the game, Cooper City (15-2) capitalized on a Seminole Ridge (16-0) turnover by taking a 6-0 lead on a touchdown pass from Caitlin Dunn to Kimberly...

The magic continued for the Wellington softball team on Friday at Historic Dodgertown. Less than a week after a game-winning grand slam lifted the Wolverines into the state semifinals, freshman Kate Desimone and a patient Wellington offense helped put the school within one win of its first state softball championship. Desimone gave up one unearned run, and the Wolverines broke open a close game in...

The team that Dwyer will field next fall will be young and lacking much varsity game experience, and it showed Thursday night in the Panthers’ 30-10 loss to visiting Miami-Dr. Krop in a spring matchup at Blum Stadium. Aside from one big play that resulted in a touchdown in the first quarter, Dwyer’s offense never found any rhythm while alternating quarterbacks throughout the game. The...

Spanish River coach Bill Caesar made a change in his defense at halftime of Thursday’s spring game against St. Andrew’s and the tweak paid off, keying the Sharks to a 30-7 victory. With the game tied at 7, Caesar switched the team’s defensive scheme from a 3-5 to a a four-front. Thirty minutes later, Caesar smiled after making the right call. “We started out in that 3-5, which...

Oxbridge Academy fell one step short of bringing home its first state softball championship. Adriana Otero went 3-for-4 with two runs, and Meghan Diaz and Nikkia Benitez each added a pair of hits to lead Miami-Westminster Christian to a 4-2 victory against the ThunderWolves Thursday night in the Class 4A state title game. The win was the 27th of the season for Westminster Christian, which snapped...

John Smith is a little short for a quarterback, standing 5-foot-10. Atorian Perry is a little tall for a receiver, measuring in at 6-foot-4. Together, the two loom large in Park Vista’s hopes for the fall. The Smith-to-Perry connection was working Thursday, as the two hooked up on three passes for 79 yards and two of the Cobras’ four touchdowns in a 27-0 spring game victory over Royal...

Former Palm Beach Central High and University of Maine football star Zedric Joseph was sentenced to life plus 15 years in prison for the May 2014 slaying of the lover of his child’s mother. The sentence came just days after the three-year anniversary of Joseph’s brutal May 14, 2014 attack on Richardy Chery, who died after Joseph stabbed him 27 times over the course of 40 minutes after...

Wellington’s last trip to the state softball tournament was in 2011. Jupiter followed a year later. After a short break and a pair of dramatic victories last week, both the Wolverines and Warriors are back in the state championship hunt. Jupiter, which rallied for a 5-4 victory against Parkland-Douglas on May 12 to earn a state tournament berth, will play Palm Harbor University at 7:50 p.m....

Despite falling to Miami Northwestern 19-7 in Wednesday’s spring game, the Atlantic Eagles showed flashes of what has the potential to be a potent passing attack this fall. Rising senior Corey Gammage made the first two highlight-reel plays of the night. The first time, the Florida Gators commit put a move on the cornerback and hauled in a 27-yard pass to put the Eagles in the red zone. Two...

Transfer quarterback James Micioni turned in an impressive debut for Olympic Heights on Wednesday night, leading the Lions to a 32-14 victory over Suncoast in the teams’ spring game. Less than two months after transferring to Olympic Heights from Coconut Creek-Monarch, Micioni displayed a strong arm while throwing three touchdown passes. “I was nervous (entering the game) because it&rsquo...

Glades Day played a tough regular-season schedule in order to prepare for the playoffs. The competition got even tougher Wednesday against two-time defending state champion Monticello-Aucilla Christian in a Class 2A state semifinal. *More high school sports coverage Elizabeth Hightower and Abigail Morgan teamed to throw a one-hit shutout, and leftfielder Natalie Sorensen went 2-for-3 with a double...

To onlookers, Jupiter pitcher Zach Chivers leaving his postgame interview to “break it down” with his teammates may have been a strange sight. But after pitching his heart out in what could have potentially been the final game of his high school career, Chivers earned a brief, calm moment among friends. Taking the mound against Palm Beach Central in a rematch of the District 9-A final...

Jensen Beach gave Dwyer first baseman Kyle Khachadourian two extra lives in his first at-bat Tuesday, and it came back to haunt the Falcons. After the Jensen Beach first baseman misplayed a foul pop-up, Khachadourian reached second on a throwing error by the shortstop, keying a five-run rally that gave Dwyer all it needed to beat Jensen Beach 5-3 in the Class 7A regional semifinals in Palm Beach Gardens...

State tournament newcomer Oxbridge Academy joins veteran Glades Day at Historic Dodgertown on Wednesday in the softball state semifinals. The Gators, who routed Lake Worth Christian 15-5 last Tuesday to earn a spot in the Class 2A state semifinals, will make their fifth trip to the state tournament in Sherri Paez’s 15 seasons as coach. Glades Day won one state title — in 2005 — and...

American Heritage’s success this season has largely hinged on young pitchers, and to this point, that has paid off. The combination of freshmen Nelson Berkwich and Ben Vespi, along with sophomore Carmine Lane, has been dominant for the Stallions, and those three pitchers are a major reason why they are just one game away from the state playoffs in Fort Myers. To clinch a spot in the state semifinals...

When you’ve coached football as long as Brian Dodds has, it’s not unusual to see a familiar face on the opposing sideline. The Park Vista coach, who will enter his 30th season in high school football this August, has mentored numerous players who later became head coaches or assistants. Nearly a dozen currently coach — or have coached — at Palm Beach County schools, including...

With one swing of the bat, Sarah Longley lifted Wellington to its first state tournament berth in six years. The sophomore shortstop’s grand slam in the bottom of the seventh carried the Wolverines to a 6-5 victory against Winter Park-Lake Howell Friday night in a Class 8A regional final. Wellington (21-7) entered the inning trailing by three runs, but loaded the bases with one out before Longley...

Bailey Phillips has had some big hits during Jupiter’s run in the softball playoffs this season, but none as big as the one she delivered Friday night. Phillips sliced a two-out single down the right-field line that scored Megan McCants with the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Jupiter to a come-from-behind 5-4 victory against visiting Parkland-Douglas in the Class...

Elams have dominated Palm Beach County football fields for years. Abe Elam was a Super 11 pick and a first-team All-Area selection for Cardinal Newman in 1999. His brother, Matt Elam, was the Post’s 2009 Defensive Player of the Year and Florida’s Mr. Football. Both went on to successful college careers and played in the NFL. Now another Elam is making a name for himself: Abe’s son...

Benjamin didn’t need long to show it means business in the baseball playoffs and wouldn’t meet the same end it did last year. The Buccaneers (19-10) scored three runs in the first inning, which proved to be all they needed in a 7-0 victory over Sarasota-Cardinal Mooney (17-10-1) in the Class 4A regional semifinals Wednesday in Palm Beach Gardens. “To set it up the way it was set...

Oxbridge Academy's Lianna Mullins pitched seven shutout innings, and also hit a two-run homer to lead the host ThunderWolves to a 2-0 victory against defending state champion Fort Myers-Bishop Verot in a Class 4A regional championship game.

Jupiter’s Dakota Gaillard watched his opposite-field bloop slowly fall out of the sky, hoping it would stay fair. “I was saying in my head, ‘Please drop, please drop, we need this,’ ” Gaillard said. The ball just fell in, and Jupiter’s Tyler Ward and Ricky Clark sprinted home to give the Warriors their first two runs of the game in the second inning. It proved to...

Oxbridge Academy continued its record-setting softball season Tuesday afternoon. Lianna Mullins pitched seven shutout innings, and also hit a two-run homer to lead the host ThunderWolves to a 2-0 victory against defending state champion Fort Myers-Bishop Verot in a Class 4A regional championship game. With the win, Oxbridge advances to the state semifinals next Wednesday in Vero Beach. The ThunderWolves...

Geneva Alpert was 4-for-5 with three runs scored, leading the Lake Worth Christian softball team to a 12-3 Class 2A regional semifinal victory over Homestead-Colonial Christian on Thursday. Arianna Martin added a triple for the Defenders, who advance to face Glades Day in Tuesday’s regional final. Glades Day 15, Miami Christian 0: Olivia Esquivel was 2-for-2 with three RBIs and Lauren Fliesh...

When it came to playing Jupiter, the third time was the charm for Palm Beach Central. Despite losing to the Warriors the first two times the teams played, the second-seeded Broncos upset third-ranked and top-seeded Jupiter when it mattered most, upsetting the Warriors 9-3 in the District 9-9A finals on a rainy Thursday night in Jupiter. “We believed all year long that we just got a little better...

Tyler Lavery struck out six as the No. 10 Suncoast baseball team edged Port St. Lucie 1- in the District 14-6A final Wednesday night in Riviera Beach for the Chargers’ first district title in school history. Jack Stengle was 2-for-3 with an RBI for the top-seeded Chargers (17-9) against the second-seeded Jaguars. District 9-9A No. 3 Jupiter 10, Palm Beach Gardens 0: Peter Cowley was 2-for-3...

Jupiter is back in the Class 9A regional semifinals following a dominating performance from pitcher Ally Costa on Wednesday night. The senior right-hander threw seven shutout innings, and Riley Benedetto added three hits and a run to lead the host Warriors to a 5-0 victory against Boca Raton in a regional quarterfinal contest. The Warriors (24-3) move on to face Park Vista in Tuesday’s regional...

Ethan Fogt had 28 kills and 15 digs, leading the Suncoast boys volleyball team to a 25-22, 19-25, 20-25, 25-15, 15-12 victory over John I. Leonard in a regional first-round play-in match in Greenacres on Tuesday night. With the victory, the Chargers improved to 12-11 on the season. BASEBALL District 7-3A Pompano Beach-Highlands Christian 5, Jupiter Christian 3: Reed Burke struck out four in four innings...

District 14-7A No. 1 Dwyer 8, No. 4 Boynton Beach 0: Shane Roberts pitched six innings, gave up one hit and struck out 13; Danny Lynch was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI, and Michael Siriani was 2-for-3 as the Panthers defeated the Tigers in a district matchup. Dwyer will face the winner of the Olympic Heights-West Boca Raton game Thursday at 7 p.m. for the championship. District 6-4A No. 2...

District 10-2A No. 1 Park Vista 20, No. 4 Santaluces 0: Diana Dorzeme threw two touchdown passes and had two interceptions; Savannah Herrin threw her first touchdown pass and Sandy Gonzalez had five receptions, one for a touchdown, and an interception as the Cobras shut out the Chiefs in a district matchup. Park Vista will face either West Boca Raton or Lake Worth in the semifinals today at 7 p.m...

The regular season is over and the first stage of postseason baseball is here. District tournaments start today and run through Friday. District champions and runners-up move on to the regional playoffs, which start on May 9 for Class 5A-9A teams and May 10 for Class 1A-4A teams. Here’s our preview: District 9-9A Favorite: Jupiter Prediction: Jupiter over Palm Beach Central Championship game...

When the Florida High School Athletic Association voted to
eliminate football districts for smaller schools
and change the playoff structure for all schools last September, the decision was applauded by many area coaches. The changes would give a fair shot to all teams, some said, as a new points system would determine most postseason qualifiers, as well as playoff seedings...

Five minutes. It’s a short period of time, but it set the tone for the Benjamin boys lacrosse team Friday night, as the Buccaneers couldn’t recover from an early five-goal deficit and fell to Fort Lauderdale-St. Thomas Aquinas in the state semifinals. Down 6-1 at the end of the first quarter, a spirited second-half comeback fell short as the Bucs lost to the Raiders for the second year...

Ally Costa pitched a three-hitter with eight strikeouts, leading the second-ranked Jupiter softball team to a 2-o victory over top-ranked Palm Beach Gardens in the District 9-9A championship on Thursday night in Jupiter. Shelby Russo went 2-for-3 and Bailey Phillips doubled and scored a run to lead the top-seeded Warriors (23-3). The top-seeded Gators fell to 21-6 on the season. District 10-9A No...

In his last chance to prepare for next week’s district tournament, James Marinan looked sharp. The tall right-hander pitched five shutout innings as second-ranked Park Vista topped fourth-ranked Wellington 1-0 in Lake Worth on Thursday night. “Would I say it was his best outing?” Cobras coach Larry Greenstein said. “No, but it was pretty darn good. I’d take that any night...

Shane Rye has had plenty of success in his seven seasons as Benjamin’s varsity boys lacrosse coach. But the one thing missing on his résumé is a state championship. The Buccaneers (16-3) would take a big step toward achieving that goal with a win Friday in the state semifinals at Jupiter High School. Benjamin, which has lost twice in the state semifinals and once in the state finals...

A pole-vaulting runway extends about 125 feet from the side of the Duplantis family’s Acadian-style home, under a gate and into the backyard, where it ends at a foam landing pit, floodlit by a light made for an oil rig. It was, until recently, the training site for the family’s youngest son, Armand. On April 1, at the Texas Relays, he vaulted 19 feet 4 1/4 inches, a national high school...

Rian Cyr hit a grand slam, leading the Atlantic baseball team to an 11-6 victory over John I. Leonard on Wednesday in Greenacres. Cameron Husing added a two run home run for the Eagles (15-10). No. 6 American Heritage 4, Palm Beach Gardens 3: Grant Patterson struck out eight, Chris Sather was 2-for-2 with two doubles and Austin Eassa went 2-for-4 with a double, but the Gators fell to the Stallions...

Dianna Dorzeme threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Julia Lips as the Park Vista flag football team held off Wellington 7-0 on Wednesday night in Wellington. With the victory, the Cobras improved to 10-1 on the season. Glades Central 25, Royal Palm Beach 0: Wiskierra Lemene threw a touchdown pass, caught a TD pass, returned a punt for a score, and returned an interception for a final touchdown...

Five years ago, Olympic Heights was a four-win softball program that struggled to compete with area teams. Today, the Lions are first-time district champions. Theresa Stettner went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, and Kaitlyn Cunningham pitched a two-hitter to lead the Lions to a 14-0, five-inning rout of host Dwyer on Wednesday night in the District 14-7A championship game. With the win, Olympic Heights...

Authorities said Paul Senat was “grossly careless” when he picked up an AK 47-style rifle late Friday and a shot fired, killing a handyman in the next room at Sugar Daddy’s Adult Cabaret, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office report. The part-owner of the suburban West Palm Beach strip club told sheriff’s officials he keeps the gun in the club for protection...

Dani Farley pitched a one-hitter with three strikeouts, leading the top-ranked Palm Beach Gardens softball team to a 16-1 rout of Palm Beach Central in Tuesday’s District 9-9A tournament in Jupiter. Jaden Walker added two hits and a walk with three runs scored and Brooke Matthews had a double, two hits, two runs and an RBI for the second-seeded Gators (21-5) against the third-seeded Broncos...

The seventh-ranked Benjamin baseball team scored six runs in the seventh inning to edge Spanish River 11-10 on Tuesday night. Matt Lopes was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and Kris Armstrong tripled and drove in three runs for the Buccaneers. Palm Beach Central 10, Lake Worth 0: Joseph Corona was 2-for-2 with two singles, two runs scored and an RBI and Jake Simon went 2-for-3 with two singles and a run scored...

Emily Higgins threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Kristi Kemper as the undefeated Seminole Ridge flag football team held off Glades Central 6-0 on Tuesday in Loxahatchee. With the victory, the Hawks improved to 11-0 on the season. Dwyer 28, Forest Hill 0: Shannon McCool threw three touchdowns passes as the Panthers (8-3) shut down the Falcons in West Palm Beach. West Boca Raton 41, Somerset Canyons...

A business partner in a suburban West Palm Beach strip club where a handyman was fatally shot Friday night has been charged with manslaughter. Palm Beach County sheriff’s detectives Tuesday afternoon charged Paul Senat, 36, of Lantana in the death of Darryl Rudolph. He was booked into the county jail on Tuesday afternoon and might appear before a judge on the charges Wednesday. The arrest came...

District 12-8A No. 4 Royal Palm Beach 2, Seminole Ridge 1: Jamie Tino had six strikeouts and was 1-for-3; Phoenix Stricker had a single and an RBI, and Jania Cobb kept Seminole Ridge from scoring the tying run in the seventh inning as the Wildcats edged the Hawks in a district semifinals matchup. Royal Palm Beach will face Wellington for the district championship Wednesday at 7 p.m. District 14-7A...

Wellington 27, West Boca Raton 25: Hallie Walker threw three touchdowns, including the game-winner to Sam Bean with 14 seconds left in the game, and Skyler Hagan had an interception return for a touchdown as the Wolverines (7-4) came from behind and defeated the Bulls. Palm Beach Lakes 7, Park Vista 6: Haley Brownell threw a 15-yard touchdown pass, but the Cobras (9-1) fell to the Rams in West Palm...

No. 3 Jupiter 8, No. 10 Suncoast 7: Reese Albert was 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI and Anthony Servideo went 3-for-4 with two walks, a triple, two runs scored and an RBI as the Warriors (18-5-2) got past the Chargers.

UPDATE: A South Florida high school student facing a felony charge will not be allowed to take part in spring football practice while wearing an ankle monitor after officials read a newspaper story online. A judge’s order had allowed Shelley Singletary to participate in spring practices, as well as attend classes at Boca Raton High School, and the 18-year-old apparently was set to practice Monday...

Football is back in Palm Beach County, at least temporarily. Spring practice begins Monday for 36 area schools, and will run through May. Practice sessions will culminate with spring classics and jamborees. Teams are allowed a maximum of 20 practice sessions beginning with the Monday of Week 44 or the last 20 days of the school year, whichever comes first. Sessions are inclusive of the spring jamboree...

Jack McCluskey was 3-for-4 with a double and a home run and six RBIs, leading the eighth-ranked Benjamin baseball team to a 22-3 rout of Oxbridge Academy on Friday. Aaron Steinhardt went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs and Kris Armstrong was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs for Benjamin (14-8). No. 2 Dwyer 9, Palm Beach Gardens 2: Kyle Khachadourian was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Alex Morales...

Ally Costa struck out 10 batters, leading the second-ranked Jupiter softball team to a 6-0 shutout of sixth-ranked Park Vista on Thursday night. Rachel Frankhouser was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Bailey Phillips collected a double for the Warriors (21-2). No. 1 Palm Beach Gardens 9, Cardinal Newman 1: Ashley Fitzhugh was 3-for-4 with two triples and two runs scored; Caroline VonWerne went 3-for-4...